Welcome to Bimmerfest -- The #1 Online Community for BMW related information! Please enjoy the discussion forums below and share your experiences with the 200,000 current, new and past BMW owners. The forums are broken out by car model and into other special interest sections such as BMW European Delivery and a special forum to voice your questions to the many BMW dealers on the site to assist our members!

Do-It-Yourself H.Q. Share your DIY projects or ask questions about how to fix something on your own. Help fellow Bimmerfest members improve your wrench turning skills! All BMW DIY tips, tales, and projects discussed inside. Learn to work on your car and know the right BMW parts you will need!

I typically hang around on E46Fanatics, but I figure this DIY of mine should be spread around so here it is. Oh and a shameless plug for myself: If you like heavy rock music in the vein of Breaking Benjamin and Three Days Grace, we'd love to get your likes on Facebook. Link - The Marked

First of all, I want to thank German Auto Solutions for the great set of timing tools they offer that made this DIY possible and affordable for me. The tools are only $100.00 for the personal grade kit and $220 for the professional grade kit and can be purchased at http://www.germanautosolutions.com

This DIY was made using the DIY's for Cam removal, installation, and timing already on the GAS website. Many of the pictures and wording used in this DIY are directly from their website and were taken and used at the permission of Gary from German Auto solutions. If you have any questions or doubts throughout this procedure you should consult their website. It is the ultimate reference and this DIY is just a streamlined version of the whole procedure as performed with the engine installed in a car. (The DIY's on their website were done with the engine on a stand.) I did not have to diverge from any of their instruction so it is really no different whether the engine is in the car or not, this DIY is just trimmed down a bit and all compiled into one big procedure where their instructions are split into Removal, Install, and Timing sections. You will see pictures throughout this DIY from their website because I felt they did a perfect job of illustrating the step already and it was not necessary for me to duplicate them.

Finally a disclaimer:

**** Perform this procedure at your own risk. It is only recommended for experienced wrench turners and you will have to take your time and be very careful to follow instructions exactly. You could severely damage your engine by screwing up while doing this job and I will not be held responsible. I am not an agent or in any way affiliated with German Auto Solutions, they are not at all responsible for any damages as a result of you following this DIY. Once again, the most detailed instructions can be found in the DIY section on their website. Use it if you have any doubts. ****

If you notice anything that should be changed or edited in any way, don't hesitate to contact me. The job will likely take 6+ hours depending on how fast you move.

1. I'm not going to go through the basic steps needed to get the engine prepped to work on the cams. If you don't already know how to perform the following steps, you have no business tackling Camshaft removal and replacements. You will need to get under the car during the proceedure. Make sure if you are using ramps you drive the car on before you imobilize it. Remove the engine under-cover/shield, cabin filter housing, engine covers, electric fan, and engine drivebelts (It's as good a time as any to spin your pullies and tensioner pullies to make sure you have no excessive play or noises). When you are done the engine should look like this.

2. Next, you need to remove the valve cover. Start by removing your ignition coils. (Again, you should already know how to do this from changing spark plugs...etc.)

3. Remove all ground straps including the brown wire in the centre.

4. Next remove all bolts holding down the valve cover.

5. Disconnect the CCV hose.

7. Lift off the Valve cover pulling wires away. You don't need to remove the main power wire for the ignition coils. Just place the valve cover off the driver side of the engine bay.

8. Cover over intake cam just unclips. Pull it straight up and off.

9. Set your crankshaft to top dead center by aligning the mark on the harmonic balancer to the mark on the block. Make sure car is in neutral Takes a 22mm socket to turn it. You can see the mark on the crank by looking down just a hair left of the waterpump pulley. The mark on the harmonic balancer is the line you see in between a 0 and 1, (looks like 0|1).

10. Verify top dead center by checking for holes in the back blocks on the rear end of the camshafts. When the engine is at top dead center, these holes should be facing upwards. Apparently there are two possible locations for the crank to be at top dead center that are 360 degrees apart. Ensuring these holes on the cam are facing upwards and the mark on the balancer is at the top dead center mark on the block, tells you that you are in the right place.

11. Next, install the top dead center lock pin. The hole for this is located on the engine block down near the driver side rear of the engine where it mates to the transmission. This pin locks the flywheel so that the engine cannot move from top dead center. "This is what the end of the pin needs to slide into. Verify the pin is fully engaged into the hole by trying to rotate the crankshaft with the pin installed. If you can still rotate the crank, rock the crankshaft back and forth slowly near TDC while pushing on the pin until it drops into place and locks the crank. This will be a two person job."

16. Using a T30 Torx driver, remove the intake and exhaust piston screws. These screws are what hold the Vanos pistons to the helix cups. ***THESE ARE LEFT HAND THREADED***

17. Remove the VANOS unit from the cylinder head. Remove the hardware securing the VANOS unit shown in the picture.
10, 11 and 13mm sockets will be required here.

18. Remove vanos unit from cylinder head. If it does not come loose after pulling you may need to give it some love taps with a rubber mallet to break it free. Clean all mating surfaces of atv sealant/stuck gasket material.

19. Loosen the six nuts shown in the picture. Do not remove them yet.

20. Use an E8 Torx socket to crack loose the 3 Torx head bolts pictured. Do not remove them yet.

21. Insert lock pin from kit into hole as shown. Push down on chain lower tensioner shoe enough to slide pin over it to lock it down. There is no need for pin to go further than edge of shoe to hold it down. It does not need to go under chain.

23. Slide intake block from kit (marked with "IN") over square at rear end of cam. Ensure block sits over end of cam and sits flush agains the back of cylinder head. Rotate cam slightly if needed to square things up.

24. Repeat process with exhaust block (marked "EX") on exhaust cam.

25. Get the socket head cap screw from the kit and lightly snug it into the hole joining the two blocks together.

26. Take the lock block clamp from the kit and install it using one of the valve cover barrel nuts that your removed to lift the valve cover.

27. Remove the three nuts you already loosened on the intake sprocket spring washer.

32. Remove the exhaust sprocket thrust washer. You might need to rock it to get free from its tight fit over the studs (or pull it off very straight) It's definitely not critical, but you may want to mark the side that faces outward for proper reassembly. The part is symmetrical and will work properly with either side facing out. Marking it just keeps previous wear surfaces mated to their original parts.

33. Remove the three already loosened E8 Torx head bolts holding the exhaust cam sprocket in place, but do not remove the sprocket yet.

34. While holding the intake cam sprocket from sliding off the cam, remove the intake cam helix cup by pulling outward on it.
(The intake and exhaust helix cups are identical, but should be reinstalled back on the cam that they were removed from.)

35. Support the exhaust cam sprocket as you remove the exhaust cam helix cup in the same way as you did the intake.
(Once the cup is removed the exhaust sprocket will try to fall forward. You want to remove the both sprockets and secondary timing chain together as an assembly, so preview the next step to see how the chain/sprocket assembly will be removed. Remove the cup, then the chain/sprocket assembly.)

36. Remove the chain sprocket assembly be grabbing both sprockets out the outside edges and pulling straight towards yourself.

37. Depending on how you grasped the exhaust sprocket in the previous step, you may have already removed this part. If not, remove the exhaust sprocket helix flange.

38. Using a 10mm socket, remove the three top and one side bolt securing the secondary timing chain tensioner.

Note from German Auto Solutions website regarding the next step, cam removal:

Important! Read this before using these instructions!

The camshafts in the BMW M54 & M52-tu engines are lightweight hollow castings that can brake in half during removal or re-installation if the proper procedure is not followed. This DIY procedure is a safe way to remove and re-install your camshafts without the need for special BMW factory tools.

There are other camshaft removal procedures that involve setting the camshaft rotation so that one set of lobes is placed in the maximum valve opening position, this leaves the other 5 sets in a position where the valves are closed and no pressure is exerted on their lifters.

There are three potential problems with that procedure:

1) The camshaft needs to be held from rotating with a wrench in one hand, while loosening the cap nuts with a ratchet in the other hand.

2) The nuts on the cap will run out of threads before the pressure is fully released from the cam lobes and lifters. This means that the camshaft will snap free, possibly causing the cam cap and nuts can go flying, once the nuts are completely loose.

3) The cam cannot be re-installed using that procedure because you cannot install the cap with 1 set of lobes in the fully open position, the threads on the journal studs are not long enough.

Our procedure involves positioning the cams so that 2 sets of lobes are set to a 30% open position and the other 4 sets are fully closed. This procedure is a little bit more time consuming, but is a safer, more controlled way of removing the cams.

41. Rotate the crankshaft counterclockwise approximately 45 degrees from the TDC mark as shown in the picture. (I marked TDC mark on balancer with a marker) This will position all the pistons at a safe distance from the valves, and will prevent any possibility accidentally bending a valve during the procedure

43. Pull exhaust cam sprocket towards yourself and angle exhaust sprocket and chain and pull on chain/pull down on sprocket until you can slip chain off of the sprocket and remove the sprocket. (Be sure you do not drop chain down into engine, loop it temporarily over the end of the cam spline to hold it while you get ready to do the next step. )

44. Secure primary timing chain to stud behind where the secondary chain tensioner was mounted to prevent chain from dropping down inside engine.

45. Rotate exhaust cam using the same 24mm wrench on the hex portion at the center of the exhaust cam until the block at the rear of the cam matches the picture below. Do not rotate more than the approximately 40 degrees shown.

46. We are now going to take the positioning one step further than what is really necessary. This is just an added margin of safety to prevent the cam from trying to reposition itself while it's being loosened.
Compare the height of the valve lifters at journals A3 and A5. You may need to use a penlight to see well enough. Rotate the cam a little back and forth until the lifters at A3 & A5 are both at the same height relative to the top of their bores. This sets the cam so that there is equal pressure on the both sets lobes.

47. You can now remove the journal cap nuts from all caps except A3 and A5. DO NOT start to loosen caps A3 or A5 yet. Remove all journal caps except A3, A5 and A1 (Remove nuts from A1, but leave cap sitting on cam). as shown.
A3 and A5 are the only journals that are carrying any load with the camshaft in this position. It's 100% safe to remove the other caps.

45. You will be loosening the caps at A3 and A5 in 1/4 turn (90 degree) increments. They will be loosened in the order shown. Do not start to loosen them yet. Using an 11mm socket and ratchet, loosen the nuts in 1/4 turn increments in the order shown in the previous picture. I'm sorry if I'm stating the obvious, but the easiest way to verify how much you are turning, is to start with the ratchet in a horizontal position and rotate until it's vertical, or the other way around. While losening, use the cap you left on A1 and use it to compare the gaps at A3 and A5 to make sure cam is lifting universally.

46. Continue loosening the nuts at A3 and A5 in 1/4 turn increments until they are completely loose. After you've completed two complete revolutions of each nut you can bump up to 1/2 turn increments if you wish.
Remember to keep comparing the A3 and A5 cap gaps to the A1 gap as you go. If the A1 cap does not rise equally each time you loosen the nuts at A3 and A5, stop and find out why.

47. Remove nuts, caps, and exhaust cam.

48. Follow the exact same steps for the intake cam. This time, rotate the intake cam to the left 40 degrees (when looking at engine from front of car) so that rear block on cam is at an approximately 40 degree angle with the holes on the left side of peak (when looking to the back from the front of engine)

49. Inspect cam journals/caps E4 and E6. ensure they are at the same height relative to their bores.

50. Remove all caps and nuts except E4, E6, and E1 (Remove nuts from E1 but leave cap in place)

51. Loosen caps at journals E4 and E6 in 1/4 turns and watch cap E1 to make sure cam is lifting evenly.

52. Again, once you have loosened the caps a few quarter turns, you can start doing half turns until you are able to remove the caps.

53. Remove the caps and the intake cam.

54. The cams are now removed and new ones can be installed.

55. The Schrick intake cam I am installing needs to have the cam position sensor piece installed from the old cam shaft onto it.

56. As you can see, the new shrick cams do not have the handy holes on the one surface of the blocks at the ends to reference cam posistion. However they still retain the marker for the cam in this case 'E' (Intake Cam) on the same side as the block that would have the holes. The exhaust cam is marked the same way except with an'A'. Just remember that the letters go along with the flat part of the block that would have holes in it.

57. To remove cam position sensor piece from old cam and transfer it to a new one, place the two intake cams side by side on a flat surface. Position the cams so that the 'E' on both is facing up. Check that the lobes are all facing the same way on both intake cams. Undo the 3 bolts holding the position sensor piece onto the old cam. You may have to hold the wrench at the center point with the same 24mm wrench to keep it from turning.

58. Remove both peices from old cam while mainting orientation and place them onto new cam. Alternatingly tighten them until they are snug. Grip cam with wrench and snug them up to aproximately how tight they were on the old cam.

59. It's recommended that before you begin make sure you have a quality brand of engine assembly lube on hand. Make sure that the assembly lube is specifically designed for use on cams and lifters. You then apply a dab of assembly lube to all lifter faces and cam journal bearings.

60. I personally am installing a used cam on used lifters. I know that at work when the guys are installing used cams they simply use engine oil and not assembly lube. (I work at a Toyota Dealership). I just used regular synthetic oil to grease up my old cams.

61. Lay both your exhaust and intake cams in their positions on cylinder head.

62. Rotate your exhaust cam to the pictured rotation for installation. (Flat surface shown would be the surface with holes/ side marked with letters

63. Put journal caps A1, A3, and A5, in position and put their nuts onto the studs and start each nut one rotation by hand.
You may need to push the cam down slightly to get them started and if your really having trouble, you can turn one of the sets you get started by hand a quarter turn with a wrench to push the cam low enough to get the rest started by hand.

64. Adjust the finger tightening of all the hex nuts on the caps to make the gaps even on both sides of the caps and between all caps even.

65. You will be tightening the 4 nuts at A3 and A5 in 1/4 turn (90 degree) increments in the order shown. The 2 nuts at A1 will be tightened each time, finger tight, after tightening A3 and A5 with a ratchet. Just like during the removal process, we are using the cap at A1 to verify the flatness of the cam as we tighten it down. The goal is to keep an eye on both sides of all 3 caps, and adjust your tightening slightly as you go to keep all gaps equal.

The reason we finger tighten the cap at A1, instead of just setting the cap in place and watching it, is to make sure that the cam does not bind up on the thrust flanges as it enters the bearing. Finger tightening allows enough force to pull the thrust flanges into place, but does not unevenly load the cam (at that end) like wrench tightening would do.

Once the caps at A3 and A5 have been lightly tightened down with a ratchet, you can install the rest of the journal caps and tighten them all down lightly. After all the caps have been lightly tightened you can go back and torque them all to 14Nm-10.5ft/lbs.

66b. Orient the intake cam in this position for installation

Next is the intake cam. It follows the same proceedure as the exhaust cam. First, place journal caps E1, E4, and E6 over their respective studs. Install the 6 hex nuts and start them about 1 turn by hand.

68. Tighten down these 3 caps using the same method as above: 1/4 turn on caps E4 and E6 and tighten E1 following each set of 1/4 turns by hand.
Follow the tightening sequence in the picture below.

69. Once the caps at E4 and E6 have been lightly tightened down with a ratchet, you can install the rest of the journal caps and tighten them all down lightly. After all the caps have been lightly tightened you can go back and torque them all to 14Nm-10.5ft/lbs.

You are now finished with the intake cam installation.

70. The last step is to return the cams to their normal T.D.C. position in preparation for installing the cam gears and timing the VANOS. Using a 24mm wrench on the hex sections in the middle of the camshafts, rotate the cams until the flats with the two holes (or in my case with aftermarket cams, The flat parts that have 'A' and 'E' marked beside them) are parallel to the head surface.

71. Install the primary timing chain that you previously tied up back into the sprocket for the exhaust cam and slip assembly over the end of the exhaust cam. Don't worry much about putting this back in the right location yet, just get the chain on, we will slip it under the chain later to get the sprocket indexed properly.

36. Slide the exhaust thrust flange over the studs as shown. Make sure you slide the flange past the threaded portion of the studs and onto the larger round section.

37. Locate the exhaust sprocket spring washer. Note the side marked "F" faces outward. Slip the spring washer over the studs like the thrust flange.

38. Exhaust spring washer properly installed.

39. Locate the exhaust cam sensor position plate. Note the orientation, it has an arrow marking like the exhaust sprocket. The arrow needs to line up with the left head surface.

40. Install the cam sensor position plate as shown. Install the three 6mm hex nuts and tighten a little at a time in a rotation pattern to compress the spring washer. Do not torque them yet.

41. While leaving all the other hardware tight, one at a time, remove each of the 6 hex nuts and 3 torx bolts, clean the threads, apply threadlock, and torque to the spec shown. Since you are only removing one piece of hardware at a time there is no danger of anything moving out of position. The BMW manual does not specify threadlock on these, but I feel that medium strength (blue) threadlock adds a margin of safety and has no down side.

Torque the 3 torx bolts to 20Nm-15ft/lbs, and the 6 hex nuts to 10Nm-7.5ft/lbs.

Your cams are now properly timed.

42. Remove the camshaft locking blocks.

43. Remove the crankshaft TDC locking pin.

44. Remove the modified primary tensioner and replace the spacer pin with the spring (preferably a new one). Install the OEM tensioner into the cylinder head.

Use a new sealing washer and torque to 70Nm-52ft/lbs using a 32mm socket.

45. Apply some RTV gasket sealer to the two areas shown in the picture. Install a new VANOS gasket over the studs and dowels, then apply some more RTV, at the same locations, on the outside face of the gasket.

I highly recommend Permatex "Ultra Grey" for all engine assembly applications where a RTV sealant is required

46. Remove the German Auto Solutions exhaust piston spacer from the VANOS unit, then slide the VANOS unit into place. Install the OEM VANOS mounting hardware and lift bracket. Torque the 6mm hex nuts to 10Nm-7.5ft/lbs, and the 8mm stud to 24Nm-18ft/lbs.

You can now jump down to labelled Universal Instructions

Proffesional Kit Cam Timing Cont.

1. Locate the intake helix cup and apply some motor oil or assembly lube to the outside and inside helix splines. Now install the intake helix cup using the same procedure you used for the exhaust side. Push the intake cup in until the splined section is flush with the sprocket as shown in the picture.

3. Locate the exhaust sprocket thrust flange and apply a film of oil or assembly lube to both sides. It doesn't have a front or back and is another symmetrical part. If you're fussy you can usually tell which side was originally facing out by looking at the polished contact areas. The side with shinny spots on the very outside edge (like in picture) faces outward.

4. Slide the exhaust thrust flange over the studs as shown.

Make sure you slide the flange past the threaded portion of the studs and onto the larger round section.

5. Locate the exhaust sprocket spring washer. Note the side marked "F" faces outward. Slip the spring washer over the studs like the thrust washer.

6.Locate the exhaust cam sensor position plate.

Note the orientation, it has an arrow marking like the exhaust sprocket. The arrow needs to line up with the left head surface.

7. Install the sensor position plate as shown. Install the three 6mm hex nuts and leave them loose so that they are not preloading the spring washer.

8. Locate the intake cam spring washer and apply some oil or assembly lube to the back side. Install over the threaded studs.

Note - the bent tabs face outward. Sometimes these will have a "FRONT" marking on the outside face.

9. Install the three 6mm hex nuts but leave them loose so that they do not preload the spring washer.

10. This is the completed chain & sprocket install ready for the timing alignment procedure. At this point all 6 hex nuts and all 3 torx bolts should be loose. You should be able to easilly slide the helix cups in and out with no resistance. If there is any binding, you have something too tight, go back and find out what it is.

Note - the intake helix cup will slide all the way out if pulled, the exhaust helix cup will pull out part way then stop, this is normal

11. Make sure that cylinder head VANOS gasket surface is perfectly clean with all traces of the old gasket removed.

Wipe off the mounting surface of the German Auto Solutions VANOS Timing Plate Tool then slide it over the studs and dowels as shown.

Any pieces of old gasket material or dirt caught between the plate and head could have a minor effect on timing accuracy.

12. Secure the timing tool in place using OEM VANOS mounting hardware as shown. Lightly tighten the 2 nuts and 1 stud. You want the plate to be held firmly, but there is no need to over tighten. 6-7ft/lbs is plenty if you feel the need to torque them.

13. Remove the 2 LEFT HAND THREAD torx head screws from their storage locations and screw them into the intake and exhaust helix cups. If the cups have been pushed forward you will have to pull them back toward the plate in order to start the screws. These only need to be lighly snugged.

14. In this step we will pretension the primary timing chain. The tension is not overly critical. Once all the slack is taken out of the chain, further tightening does not accomplish anything. If you severely over tighten the tensioner you could damage the timing chain or guide. I found the easiest way to set proper tension without over tightening is to firmly grasp the exhaust sprocket, (the one furthest from the front of the engine that the primary chain wraps around) and wiggle it back and forth. Tighten the tensioner slowly until you can no longer wiggle the exhaust sprocket, then tighten one more revolution.

15. Next, press down on the secondary chain tensioner and remove the lock pin. Everything will now be in proper alignment.

16. Tighten the 6 hex nuts on the intake and exhaust sprockets. The bottom ones are accessible through the window openings on the timing plate. These do not affect timing, they only preload the spring washers against the sprockets to keep them from vibrating against the cam flanges during operation. Snug them up good at this point but do not torque them yet.

17. Next tighten the 3 torx head screws on the exhaust sprocket. These screws lock the relationship between the intake and exhaust VANOS sprockets which sets the proper timing. They are the only screws that lock the timing in place. Snug them up good at this point but do not torque them yet.

18. Next remove the German Auto Solutions VANOS timing plate. Don't forget to return the left hand thread torx screws to their storage locations to prevent them from getting lost.

While leaving all the other hardware tight, one at a time, remove each of the 6 hex nuts and 3 torx bolts, clean the threads, apply threadlock, and torque to the spec shown. Since you are only removing one piece of hardware at a time there is no danger of anything moving out of position. The BMW manual does not specify threadlock on these, but I feel that medium strength (blue) threadlock adds a margin of safety and has no down side.

Torque the 3 torx bolts to 20Nm-15ft/lbs, and the 6 hex nuts to 10Nm-7.5ft/lbs.

19. You can now remove the tensioner tool and install the OEM tensioner. Use a new sealing washer.

Torque to 70Nm-52ft/lbs.

20. Remove the camshaft locking blocks.

21. Remove the crankshaft TDC locking tool.

22. Apply some RTV gasket sealer to the two areas shown in the picture, install a new VANOS gasket over the studs and dowels, then apply some more RTV at the same locations on the outside face of the gasket.

I highly recommend Permatex "Ultra Grey" for all engine assembly applications where a RTV sealant is required.

Torque the 6mm hex nuts to 10Nm-7.5ft/lbs, and the 8mm stud to 24Nm-18ft/lbs.

You can now Jump to down to labelled Universal Instructions.

Universal Instructions:

47. Install the 2 LEFT HAND THREAD T30 torx head screws to secure the VANOS pistons to the helix cups. I recommend a drop of medium strength threadlock here as well.

Torque them to 10Nm-7.5 ft/lbs.

48. Locate the piston oil plugs. The o-rings on these tend to harden and need to be replaced. BMW does not sell the o-rings for the plugs separately. New plugs with o-rings cost less than $2.00 each. I recommend just replacing the entire plug rather than trying to find o-rings that fit the used plugs.

Apply some oil or assembly lube to the o-rings then push the plugs into the VANOS pistons until they snap into place.

49. Install new sealing washers on the access plugs, then install and torque the plugs to 50Nm-37ft/lbs using an 8mm Allen driver.

51. Install the intake VANOS solenoid plug and the VANOS oil feed line. Use new sealing washers on the oil feed fitting.
Torque the oil fitting to 32Nm-24ft/lbs using a 19mm socket. You are now finished with the VANOS system timing and assembly.

From here, just reverse the removal and make sure you do up all your connections and get everything back in place (no kidding... it was late when I wrote this)

Hello people, got two problems which I have been told are common on 2005 bmw 6 series (E63).
1. Seat restraint waning and airbag from now where after the car wash people disconnected the socket, I tried clearing from the garage computer. but eventually comes on. : (
2. Vanos intake problem. been told its common too. my 6 has now done 103000 and now all of a sudden making knocking noise and feels like its gonna cut off while driving.
tried asking some of the so called BMW specialists all they talk is £1000s and now it has put me off even touching the car, its even making knocking sound in the front of the car,
any suggestions fellows???